"There is no forgiveness when one who claims a superiority falls below the standard"- Frantz Fanon

"We would be out of our minds, we would actually be traitors to ourselves, to be reluctant or fearful to identify with people with whom we have so much in common"- El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz

​Officially my last entry as a CorpsAfrica volunteer, this post is a collection of some of the major events that unfolded in front of my eyes throughout this surreal journey that took me from Msani village in Nkhata Bay to Likoswe village in Chiradzulu.

But before I proceed, allow me to take this opportunity to pay my homage to CorpsAfrica for this eye-opening opportunity. One of the many things that my fellow pioneer volunteers and I were promised when we joined is that this journey would change us. As I prepare to conclude my one year stay in Likoswe village, I will be the first to admit that change has really occurred within me. Is it a positive change? That's not for me to answer, but what I know is that I am proud of the change that has happened. My contentment is what matters.

Now, here is how the CorpsAfrica journey motioned.

Ain't this nice?

On November 15, 2015, after hours of my customized meditation on the shores of the beautiful Lake Malawi in Mlowe, Nkhata-Bay, I abandoned all the hesitation and made the final decision to accept the offer to volunteer with CorpsAfrica. In spirit, this is the day that my journey began.

Get your legs ready.

On January 17, 2016, after losing my phone the previous day and standing up to exploitative minibus call boys, I joined up with the entire CorpsAfrica Malawi crew on the foothills of Chongoni mountain in Dedza for pre-service training (PST). I took the above picture midway through PST minutes before the crew hiked Chongoni mountain. Obviously, very few made it to the top.

Diffusion of wisdom

Part of PST involved a practical element that required volunteers to delve into nearby villages and shadow assigned individuals. Intended to give us a realistic feel of what lay ahead of us, this exercise took me to this lady's home where we shared lots of amazing stories together with her two grandchildren who she stays with.

Watch out for that leakage

On February 26, 2016, I moved to Likoswe village to begin my one year voluntary service. In order to aid transition and immersion, CorpsAfrica requests villages to assign a host family to a volunteer. In my case, I was assigned Mr. Dave Masautso as my host and the picture above is the house that I shared with him. Need I say that this was a whole new experience on its own?

Chiefs at work

Settled in Likoswe village, the first project that I got involved in was the construction of a community nursery school. Funded by Village X Org, the project involved hauling sand from Sandekwe river, bringing rocks, water, and bricks to the construction site and my other manual activities. Despite the lack of involvement from most community residents, especially men, the nursery school structure was completed and handed over to the community on May 23, 2016. Today, apart from serving as a nursery school, the structure also serves as a convenient meeting place for community meetings.

Kadewere Kadewere. FOMO, FOMO'

Chole hospitality. The CorpsAfrica Malawi crew included two distinguished Moroccans volunteers who were assigned Chole village in Mulanje as their site. On May 30, 2016, I travelled to Chole village to attend a handover ceremony of infrastructure that was constructed using collaborative effort from CorpsAfrica through the two Moroccan volunteers, the community, and FOMO. Apart from serving as a handover ceremony, this event was also a goodbye ceremony as the completion of the structure marked the imminent return to their mother country for the Moroccans. In the picture above, the two Moroccans are showered with an assortment of gifts from community members. It was a grand ceremony.

Drinks on drinks. Water is life.

Talking of visiting my fellow volunteers' sites, I think I did terrible on this aspect. Apart from attending the ceremony in Mulanje, the other volunteer site that I visited is Makanani village in Mwanza - Lusekelo's site. One confession I have to make is that Makanani is one bunch of a hilly territory. Granted that the place has no phone service and villages are located far and between complicated my visit. But at least I got the opportunity to witness a product of Lusekelo's project - a well.

Tobi got fans

Failed selfie. Apart from making me endure the daily shenanigans in Likoswe village, my service also took me to various places within and outside Malawi. Places like Thunga in Thyolo, Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa, and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Wowed by the exuberance of the CorpsAfrica Senegal crew (these guys can dance), I made it my point to wow kids when we visited the Azzaden valley communities. The picture above says it all.

Chickens and nkhuku

Then the Likoswe community and I said, "let there be chickens." You find more details about these chickens here.

As you can see, my association with CorpsAfrica has been an adventure. Who wouldn't be changed by an adventure of such magnitude? Definitely, not me.

But the most important question is, does this spell the end of Tobiyasi in Chiradzulu? My response is, yes, Tobi is about to leave Chiradzulu but this blog will remain active. But remember that after this is my final piece in my capacity as a CorpsAfrica volunteer. What lays ahead are posts written by Limbani Kamanga in his capacity as Tobiyasi Tobi. Yambone!

Take yourself several years back. Try to recall how you learned how to read and write while attending congested and underfunded public primary schools. If you are a Malawian, you are aware that learning how to read and write was a multilevel struggle. If Chichewa was not your mother tongue, the battle to acquire literacy skills started with learning how to understand and speak Chichewa. Having grasped a good oral command of Chichewa, you knew that your journey to literacy had more miles ahead of it. You had to learn how to read and write Chichewa and then transition to English. Learning to write and read was a struggle that demanded patience, composure, commitment and determinism.

But if there is one aspect that I want you to reflect on, it is the role that your folks at home played in your quest to acquire literacy skills. If you went to government primary schools you will admit that you learned how to read and write from home and not at school. It is the intervention of your parents, siblings, and guardians that enabled you to acquire the ability to read and write - mostly by the time you were 9 years old and in grade 4. For some of you, your folks had to do it themselves while for others they took you to part time classes. Fine.

Malavi Full Primary School

Now try to think of what would have become of you if your folks didn't care or had no ability to read and write. Imagine that your parents were illiterate and therefore evaded discussing or participating in your academic growth. Imagine that your parents had zero interest in your academics for whatever reason. Imagine that your only chance to become literate rested in paying attention in a crammed class, with a 80:1 student to teacher ratio. What would have happened?

Such is a scenario that faces most children in Likoswe village. Here, most adults are illiterate and therefore are incapable of providing academic assistance to their children. Even for literate parents, most of them hardly take an active role in assisting their children. To them, it is the responsibility of teachers at the nearby Malavi primary school to inculcate their children with academics. However, at Malavi primary school, the conditions are no better than the familiar classic conditions in Malawian rural public schools. In most classes, especially in formative grades such as grade 1-5, a single teacher is pitied against a large number of students, which makes it impossible to give proper attention to specific academicl problems that individual students face. As a result, children here progress slowly with their academics. With children struggling to learn how to read and write, repetition rate is high, which builds frustration and thereby contributes to high dropout. It is not uncommon to find 14 year olds in grades 4-6. For most of us, we turned 14 in Form 1.

Busy at work: One of the students working on his homework

​With assistance from Lloyd Bamusi, a youthful Likoswe village resident, I have introduced a program that seeks to help struggling students in Likoswe village to attain literacy skills. In addition to literacy skills, we are also helping with numerical skills. Participants in this program meet every afternoon during week days for one on one assistance and sort of part time classes. In essence, we thought this is our way of contributing to and augmenting the ongoing National Reading Program, which seeks to improve learning achievement of students in primary schools. When we started in October, we hoped that some residents would join us in helping these students but given that we do this free of charge, the people that we expected join shunned us. No compassion for thy community. Anyway, Lloyd and I are undeterred by this. Currently, 37 students have registered in this program and even though attendance fluctuates, the outcome so far seems promising.

In addition to fluctuating attendance and negligence from potential tutors, other problems that we have been encountering are lack of material resources, lack a conducive learning environment, and lack of support from community leaders and parents. But when you face this kinds of problems, flexibility and improvisation bring a palliative effect. Maybe things will improve as time goes by. Maybe one day one kid will testify that our effort improved her writing and reading skills. That's what matters.

Regardless, Lloyd and I will keep on marching. One day, history will absolve us!

"Usually (villagers) know exactly what the (stranger) wants to hear them say, and they say it in the exact manner that the (stranger) expects them to say it. And by listening to these (villagers) the problem never gets solved, it only gets worse"-Malcolm X

In my previous post, I promised to inform you the progress of my principal project that I am implementing in Likoswe village, as a CorpsAfrica volunteer. Without wasting lines, let's head straight into the thick of it:

Context: A microcosm of villages in Malawi, Likoswe village is grappling with a number of typical pressing development needs. Food insecurity, high school dropout, low income generation, lack of local initiative to solve communal problems, early marriages, adult illiteracy, entitlement to external assistance, disorganized leadership, unavailability of sources of clean water, high unemployment...you name it. These problems, which are inter-woven, are all prevalent in Likoswe village. Obviously, these are the type of communal challenges that cannot be rectified within a limited time frame but trying isn't a crime. Is it?

In consultation with interested locals, I focused on low income generation as a problem that needed urgent intervention. Thus, I designed and launched a small-scale poultry project that seeks to improve participants' income generation through selling eggs. In addition to income generation, the project intends to improve nutrition at household level. Currently, the project is ongoing.​Design: Individually, participants will buy Black Australorp chicks at a highly subsidized price, raise them, and then commence egg production.

Black Australorps

Why buy as individuals instead of a group? Well, I am not here to promote communism. There's a plethora of evidence that indicates that group ownership leads to the free-rider problem and, to an extent, moral hazard. Every participant managing their own chicks means maximum care and a real sense of ownership.

Why Black Australorps? As a dual-purpose breed, Black Australorps demand minimal inputs and attention, which is ideal for the targeted population. In addition, Black Australorps strive on a free-range system and a number of community members have prior experience of stocking this chicken breed. Lastly, Likoswe village is located close to Mikolongwe veterinary, a government animal husbandry institution that specializes in the production of Black Australorps - among others. Together, these factors made Black Australorps a right choice for this mission.

Why Chicks Instead of Chicken? Chicks are cheaper and easy to find. Duh! On a serious note, we resolved to purchase chicks because in addition to helping to boost income generation, this project intends to impart poultry management knowledge and experience to participants. The experience derived from participating in this project, I hope, will assist participants to undertake and manage poultry enterprises independently.

Management: Before distributing chicks, two training workshops were conducted by a local Assistant Veterinary Officer (AVO). The first training focused on the construction of standard chicken coops, while the second focused on feeding, and parasite and disease control. A 10 member local CorpsAfrica committee takes charge of administrative and monitoring tasks as the project progresses. To this end, I work hand in hand with them.

You have been trained: Participants after training #2

Positives so Far: 1. The project is underway and all participants received their share of chicks.2. Some chicks are alive.

Challenges So Far:1. Persistent nationwide blackouts have compromised chicken production at Mikolongwe veterinary. After months of waiting, we resolved to source chicks from a private producer. Failure to source chicks from Mikolongwe delayed the project immensely and has affected our lean budget.2. Some participants have a tendency of skipping periodic meetings. This affects the dissemination of important information.3. Participants did not take heed to the need to construct standard housing and this negligence is having negative effects now. Most claim that they will work on their coops, but having lived here since February, I find this hard to believe.4. Despite the intensity of the feed and management training, some participants were ill-prepared for the chicks in terms of feeds. This has led to a loss of a considerable number of chicks from malnutrition.

Current Status: The project has 26 participants, who ordered 475 chicks in total. Out of the 26 participants, 20 are females. With assistance from committee members, I distributed 6-weeks old chicks for the project on October 27. By November 10, which is barely 2 weeks after distribution, a total of 78 chicks had been lost, mainly from poor feeding and attacks from predators, particularly dogs. Grim. Personally, I attribute this loss to negligence on feed preparation and housing. Through inspection, I have noted that participants that follow a feeding regimen that the AVO recommended and keep their chicks in secure spots have registered zero losses.

Way Forward: I hope individuals that are doing good will keep the momentum going. Phase 2 of the project, if it happens, is patiently waiting for those that will perform well in the phase 1. Phase 2 is an incentive for good performance in phase 1. Hopefully, this has been a good learning experience to all participants and all the Doubting Thomases that reneged on this project. It certainly has been, to me. Meanwhile, we will continue to monitor how the project will continue to unfold and extract vital lessons from this journey. Thank you.

​"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller"-Ibn Battuta

As I insinuated in my previous post, the entire 15-member CorpsAfrica Malawi team left for CorpsAfrica's inaugural All Country Conference (ACC) in Morocco. We left Malawi on October 3 and returned on October 16. I am not here to give you a detailed account of our engagements during the course of these 13 days that I spent away from my site. I am sure someone else will do that - probably with better eloquence and verbatim than I could. If you're interested, see to it that you check this link, where blog entries from all CorpsAfrica volunteers from the three countries (Malawi, Senegal, and Morocco) are posted. Otherwise, from my experience, this trip befits being labeled as an 'experience of a lifetime.'

He spoke zero English and I spoke zero French nor Arabic. But through sign language, we became buddies. Definitely, a highlight

Anyway, today I have decided to focus on telling you a few things that I dearly missed while I was away. Sometimes, detachment is what makes you appreciate the value of seemingly banal things that happen in your comfort zone. It is through detachment that you learn to differentiate the things that you need and want in this volatile game called 'life.' Calm down now, I am no sage so I will keep it cool and simple, as usual, and miss you with this philosophical gibberish.

My radio: I bought this radio on March 23 at a giveaway price from a Pakistani shop owner in Limbe and it has become one of my prized possessions since then. Through this radio, which was made in China, I stay in touch with current affairs, especially on the local front, and in that way I always have something to say to community members - most who don't own a radio and therefore have no penchant of listening to the radio. Actually, one concerning observation I have made is that community members that happen to listen to the radio, mostly men, exclusively listen to sports related programs. This way, they end up missing out on important information that has varying implications on their everyday lives as citizens of this country. As far as news reporting is concerned across various local radio stations, I derive high level merriment in contrasting the pro and anti government propaganda. It is amazing to see the extent that politicians can go in a desperate effort to goad their opponents. Not just politicians, but even some radio personalities have a knack of making incendiary and perfunctory remarks. I love it!

This radio is half my life here.

My not-so-comfortable bed: No, my bed is not uncomfortable. I would be doing a massive injustice to my lovely bed if I were to label it that. Obviously, while in Morocco, I slept on beds of superior comfortability than my own. I mean, not throughout the 13 days, but some. Comfort aside, I realized that I get better sleep on my 3/4 bed with a lean mattress. Initially, I had troubles getting used to the discomfort caused by the leanness of my mattress and I had a series of temptations to purchase a bigger mattress. But, over the time, I have inured myself to its discomfort and I don't feel like changing anytime soon. Here is a secret: A more comfortable bed makes me lazy and oversleep, which would be catastrophic on my service. Anyway, I sleep with a peace of mind on my bed - an aspect that I missed dearly when I was away.

The people: Particularly, people that are participating in my projects. Wait a minute, this reminds me that I have not blogged about a principle project that I am implementing in Likoswe village. I guess I should make this the subject of my next blog entry. Be on the lookout. I must admit beforehand that certain participants of my project give me a minor headache once in a while, but I guess that is expected when dealing with people. What's more important is that I probably look at this issue from a bit of a sententious standpoint. Who knows, maybe while they give me a minor headache, I give them a massive bout of diarrhea? You never know. What is important though is that despite this who headache and diarrhea issue, we still manage to kick it together. We've come from a far and we continue to march on as a cohesive unit towards achieving our goals. Tell you what, there was an aura of mutual ecstasy upon my return and now we are ready to embark on the next phase of this project.

Definitely, I missed their mellifluous voices.

Overall, the trip to Morocco has boosted my energy level, which is important as I prepare to complete the remaining 3 months of my service with unscathed determination and grit. I feel recharged. The break that I took from my community and the experiences that I encountered while away have reverberated my zest to finish my service on a high notch. But most importantly, as per the theme of this piece, this trip gave me an opportunity to reflect and appreciate certain things that I have been taking for granted. Never again, for now. Shukran! Merci beaucoup!

"We are not here to take part. We are here to take over"-Conor McGregor

​I am writing this piece while seated on the veranda of my tiny house, having returned from Kanje market where I, together with three senior members of the Village X committee, had gone to purchase mphasa (a traditional mat made from reeds). Unimpressed with the quality of mphasathat we had found, we got back empty handed and we have resolved to return to the market on Thursday - another market day at Kanje. Hopefully, we will be able to find top quality mphasathen.

Not Good Enough: the three mphasa that we found at the market.

The September equinox, which falls on September 22, is the day when the sun crosses the equator heading toward the South. In the Southern hemisphere, this marks the official beginning of "summer" season. But, see, here in Malawi, which is roughly located midway between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, we don't necessarily use the Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring terminology when describing annual general weather patterns. Rather, the seasons that we have are: cool dry season (May - July), hot dry season (Aug - Nov), and hot wet season (Dec - April). This being mid September, it means we are deep in the hot dry season and, as expected, the days have been getting hotter and drier as we transition toward the end of the year. Generally, daily average temperatures have been hovering around 29°C, which is not that bad but is way different from the average temperatures that we were accustomed to during the cool dry season.

Characterized by scorched vegetation following successive days of zero precipitation, the dry season is a difficult period for small-scale dairy farmers in Chiradzulu and surrounding districts - where most farmers, for various reasons, are not that good when it comes to stocking feeds for periods of scarcity. To find succulent green vegetation for their animals, farmers travel long distances on bikes in search of rivers and streams where they collect various species of vegetation, including immature reeds! This is where the connection between our inability to findmphasa at Kanje market and the hot dry season rests.

At the market, a friend of the only mphasa seller that we found uttered a powerful remark that got me thinking. He said: "Mphasa zikusowa chifukwa cha zitsiru zomwe zikuweta ng'ombezi. Mabango onse adyetsa ng'ombe. Zikapitilira zimenezi, mphasa zizasiya kupezeka. Ndichitukuko cha mtundu wanji chimenechi? [It is extremely difficult to find mphasa these days because of the imbecile that are stocking dairy cattle. If this trend remains unchecked, the mphasa industry will cease to exist. What kind of development is this?]". To add context to the translated quote, I should mention that most dairy farmers in the region, most who are based in Thyolo but collect green feeds in Chiradzulu rivers and streams, are beneficiaries of several development initiatives from the government and NGOs that distribute livestock to diversify household income generation.

Busy day at Kanje market

Do I think that development initiatives that involve the distribution of cows to rural farmers are borne out of imbecility? Hell no! However, I think the quote above triggers an important conversation that stakeholders in the development sector need to be mindful of: environmental & social impacts, among others, of development projects. What we have here is a classic scenario where the thriving of a particular development project complicates other sectors of life within a confined economy. The government and NGOs distributed dairy cattle to farmers to boost their household economic activities, which is a noble cause in itself. I am unsure whether these farmers were equipped with means of ensuring the availability of feeds during the dry season, but what we have here is that, by cutting immature reeds, dairy farmers are destroying the prospects of the mphasa industry - a mainstay industry in the region.

Since most people can't afford a bed or chairs, mphasa is a very important household commodity here. Therefore, the unvailability of reeds along river banks is an issue of considerable concern. At the very least, the dearth of reeds translates to the scarcity of raw materials for making mphasa, which makes mphasa an exorbitant commodity on the market. Where will people sleep if they can't have a mphasa? Without the availability [or unaffordability] of mphasa, it is highly probable that some people may resort to sleeping on a bare floor. This would not be a nice outcome.

Did dairy farming come to take over from the mphasa industry? I hope not. But how do we ensure that dairy farming thrives without compromising the mphasa industry in the region? Of course, a quick response would be training local dairy farmers how to preserve enough fodder for the dry season, which, based on recent rainfall patterns, ends around mid December. But who is responsible for the training? And what if these farmers were already trained how to preserve feeds for periods of chronic scarcity? What does one do in this case? If you can, feel free to leave comments on this post on what you think should be the way forward.

Anyway, the three committee members and I went to look for mphasa for the community nursery school, which I talked about in a couple of my initial entries such as this one. After several frustrating delays, the school got inagurated today and it is my sincere hope that the school, despite the current unavailability of numerous basic necessities, will help to transform education prospects in Likoswe village. At the moment, kids sit on a bare cement floor, which seems to be okay with most local parents. Some of us, though, are not contend with this. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Likoswe, my community, is in dire need of the many potential outcomes that this nursery school is here to accomplish. Let me stop here.

Morocco, are you ready for the crew? Chill out though, 'cause we not coming to take over.

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do"- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"A scared dog barks to pretend to its master but a brave dog bites to protect him"- An African Proverb

July 2016 marked the midway of my service and now being August, I am looking at 5 more months before I pack my belongings and move on with my life. To add flavor to the halfway landmark of our service, CorpsAfrica Malawi held a Mid Service Training (MST), which was particularly intended to help volunteers to reflect systematically on their individual experiences this far and prepare each one of us to finish in the strongest way possible. For more information on MST and what it meant to be there, check out Deborah's and Tusa's blog entries. Otherwise, in addition to the jolly that came with this precious reunion, our resolve as a group and as individuals was tested in an unforeseen way but I am glad that we continue to march on as a group with unscathed determination. Splendid!

Teenage Pregnancy & Early Marriage: Since arriving in my community, my efforts to get a firsthand appreciation of the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and early marriages had proven futile for technical reasons. I mean, I had heard of the existence of these problems but without seeing girls that are affected by these two vices, what I had been hearing remained mere speculation. I needed to see and, if possible, interact with girls that are caught up in this predicament. But as a young bachelor working in a culturally conservative society, simply going into the community and start asking for young ladies with kids would have raised eyebrows. An alternative was to observe such girls during community meetings but, unfortunately, millennials hardly attend community meetings here. I had to be creative.

Unmoved, I had to devised a smart strategy that would not only allow me to circumvent these restrictions but also provide fun for my subjects. After much contemplation and looking at the minimal resources I had, I organized a netball match for females in my community. Generally, women in my community (and many rural areas in Malawi) lack recreation activities, so I was convinced that a netball match would attract scores of females from their cocoons. Maybe this lack of recreation activities partly explains why most girls are prone to teenage pregnancies in the first place. To incentivize as many females as possible to grace the occasion, I pledged a whooping K2000.00 (approximately, $2.80) as a sponsorship package for this match and, as expected, a large number of female residents came to play and cheer. Goal achieved.

Talent galore: women showcasing their netball skills

Cutting a long story short, what I observed as the netball match unfolded confirmed what I had been hearing on the severity of teenage pregnancy and early marriages in Likoswe village. Roughly, more than 95% of the women (girls) that participated in the match were aged between 15 and 20, out of which, 75% of them have toddlers. Most of them had gotten pregnant before completing primary school, got married, delivered, and are now divorced. As the match progressed, the toddlers kept running into the playing field while crying and thereby interrupting their mothers in the process. To a candid observer, it was a deploring view.

Aftermath: Upon consulting several senior residents, it turns out that there is a heinous circle that perpetuates this problem in the community. Teenage pregnancies and eventual early marriages are a common occurrence here and people have simply allowed this ugly phenomena to be ingrained on their minds as a normality of life. A girl child and even boys failing to progress with education does not warrant serious contemplation and agency here. But as a man who is chronically allergic to mediocrity, I will not tolerate this mentality. Obviously, this problem cannot be reverted overnight, but I won't standby and let this aspect lead me to idleness. Because you what? Knowing is not enough, but applying. At the moment, the plan is to organize a team of residents that are interested to join my efforts to fight for this noble cause. I don't know what we will achieve in the remaining 5 months that I will be here, but one thing I am sure about is that we will do something. Something that will be ongoing even after I leave. Watch this space.

"What do people do when they appear not to be doing something?"- Paul Theroux

Now that I claim to be fully inured in my community, a few friends have been bugging me to describe common shenanigans on a typical day here in Chiradzulu. As a gentleman with a penchant of offering succinct answers, responding to this question comes out as an onerous task given that the intensity of my daily schedule varies for various reasons (maybe a topic for a different day). There are weeks when I feel like I have a lot on my plate and there are weeks when I feel absolutely under-worked. For a guy who prefers to be occupied most of the time, slow days have stood out as one of the biggest challenges here. During the first few months, I spent my slow days sitting on my veranda with a sullen face, watching the day wear off. But when it hit me that hectic days are not a daily occurrence here, I decided to devise and keep an eye on activities that I could rely on to spice up my slow days.

So here we go. Since, all my previous posts have focused on describing my official engagements, I have decided to bring in a tad bit of change this time around. Change is inevitable, huh? In this post, I highlight some of the memorable shows that I have encountered or partaken in my effort to overturn slow days. Consider this a public service.

BANKERS FC: For people that know me, it is no secret that I am a soccer maniac. I love soccer. Playing it, watching it, discussing it, thinking about it, betting on it - you name it. I mean, I am no Yannick Bolasie nor Gabadinho Mhango, but believe me when I say that a soccer field is my heaven on earth. Funny enough, the ecstasy I get when I step on the pitch has nothing to do with the quality of the pitch nor the standard of play. As long as I can run on it and be able to kick that ball, all is good with me. At least then, I take a much craved respite from thinking about my most dreaded daily activity - setting a charcoal burner.

What does a self-professed soccer fanatic do when he finds himself in Likoswe Village? The answer is simple. He joins Bankers FC, formally known as Likoswe FC (Don't ask me the idea behind the "Bankers" name because surely there is no formal bank in my community and there won't be one anytime soon. All I know is that the name switch has strong politics behind it between the current crop of players and former players, mostly those that emigrated to South Africa in search of employment). Upon joining the team, I was nicknamed Nakamura by the lad who used to coach the team then. Apparently, in an effort to draw parallelism with Genk Nakamura, a Japanese footballer who has signed for Be Forward Wanderers FC - one of the giants and mainstays in the national football league. Personally, I don't like that nickname but at my age I know that unwarranted nicknames tend to stick when you protest them. So I had to let it go. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Bankers FC is mostly known for shipping goals than banging them, I like the camaraderie here. The team has interesting characters with a great sense of humor. So whenever we get thrashed on the soccer field, we usually find a bright side of it and joke about it. Meanwhile, the team's administrative set up has shaken up a bit. Yours truly has been assigned the role of a coach-player (yes, what a meteoric rise) and surely our results should start improving hence forth.

Bankers FC. Note Malavi mountain in the bbackground

THE FUNERAL: Sticking with soccer, have you ever wondered if it was possible for a grown up person to experience a culture shock in their own native country? Well, it happened to me. Last week, a neighboring team lost one of their players and, as per tradition here, surrounding teams had to go and render their support to the grieving team and - most importantly- family. Support is rendered in form of cash or attending and doing manual work pertaining to the funeral. Tasks such as carrying and burying the coffin, for guys, and faking emotions, for girls. All this looked normal to me except one aspect. Throughout all these activities we were meant to put on our respective team uniforms. Some guys went to the extent of dressing up as if they were really about to play soccer. Stuff like cleats, shorts, socks, and even chin pads! I was stunned. In Nkhata Bay, where I am from, we don't have that. Throughout the funeral proceedings, I kept encountering such interesting shocks that the entire ordeal turned out to be a remarkable experience for me. The good thing about participating in this tradition is that you get to leave the funeral quite earlier. Once the actual burial is done, those wearing uniforms are free to leave while the rest of the attendants remain at the graveyard for a final religious sermon. This experience got me thinking about the nuanced ways in which soccer has intermingled with culture in our respective localities.

MOUNTAIN HIKE: My house is located on the fringes of Malavi mountain, the biggest mountain you see on your right as you exit Blantyre heading toward Mulanje through Midima road. I had made it a case that I would hike the mountain before the end of my service. But I had always found reasons to postpone my hike the second the thought of this personal challenge came to my mind. Procrastination. Two days ago, however, a friend from them old days paid me a surprise but brief visit and we embarked on a postprandial hiking escapade. The entire trip, back and forth, took about 4 hours. On my fledgling list of mountains to have hiked, which currently includes conquering the massive Chongoni mountain in Dedza, hiking Malavi mountain involved the steepest hike. As I write this piece, my thighs still ache from the experience. Despite my mild acrophobia, I am hungry for more hiking expeditions.

A view from the zenith of Malavi mountain. Notice the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) campus in the background

​PIM: July 6 marked 52 years since the dawn of independence in Malawi. As usual during this period, an aura of nationalism reigned throughout the country, especially on local radio stations. In Malawi, you can't talk about nationalism without talking about John Chilembwe. And it is inevitable to talk about Chilembwe without talking about the Providence Industrial Mission(PIM), one of the earliest organized black churches in this part of Malawi. It is at PIM where earliest elements of nationalistic insurrections began in 1915, even though it required 49 more years of relentless bickering before the nation gained official independence. Enough of history. As a way of celebrating independence, I went on a lone peregrination to PIM that involved walking a total distance of 12KM on a hot day. But at least I got to munch on sugarcane throughout the way. It was a priceless experience.

Get your distance right.

Chilembwe's church.

THE UGLY: Not all slow days are free of vicissitudes. For those of you that went to public primary schools, you remember the ignominy and amount of disgust that came with cleaning school toilets? It was a horror show. Last week somebody, with one move, made me reminisce vividly all those horrible things that you encountered when mopping school latrines during those olden days. This inconsiderate individual left a few soft ones besides the hole in a latrine that I share with my neighbor and his family. Interestingly, my neighbors had gone to visit their village on this fateful day, meaning that among those that are supposed to use this latrine, I was the only one around. I was forced to clean up somebody's mess - literally.

Anyway, I could go on and on narrating amazing experiences that I have had on my slow days here. But we both don't have the whole day. The point is slow days are a real life phenomenon and it is incumbent on a every individual to find their special panacea for slow days. Go out there. Get involved in something. That way, you observe a lot of interesting stuff that make you appreciate the essence of life. FORGET IT. I am not good at this whole philosophical gibberish. But I am sure you now have a better understanding of what I do when I am not out there with my ladies or.. never mind. I am out of here. For now.

"A country that does not know how to read and write is easy to deceive."- Che Guevara

Illiteracy remains one of the major impediments of socio-economic development in Africa, and Malawi in particular. In a globalized world economy where technology continues to play a central role, inability to read and write neutralizes an individual's effort to attain meaningful personal improvement, and molds disempowered citizens. Disempowerment, in this case, occurs because illiteracy undermines an individual's capacity to fathom and contribute positively toward the development of their community and country. For this reason, as posited by several academicians, it is important that individual African countries should galvanize their efforts toward addressing their current worrying literacy statistics.

Before 1994, when the Malawi government introduced free primary education, access to education was a far-fetched dream to the majority of underprivileged Malawians. This means that children from families that could not afford to raise tuition failed to enroll in primary schools, where people are expected to acquire reading and writing skills. Common in rural areas, this predicament limited education attainment for the majority of rural residents back then. As a result, such people would age without knowing how to read and write, and thereby having to deal with consequences that are associated with illiteracy.

In Likoswe Village, certain residents have taken the mantle to tackle illiteracy, which is mostly pervasive among adult females in the community. With assistance from Tadzuka Women Forum (TAWOFO), a local NGO based at Chiradzulu Boma, these residents hold afternoon classes where adults that did not get a chance to enroll in primary school during their youthful years can be taught basic literacy and numerical skills. In addition, the curriculum is also designed to increase awareness of the existence of various forms of human rights, specifically women's rights. I visited these women to learn more about the objectives, experience, and progress they made since the inception of this program. Below are topical excerpts from the long and insightful dialogue that I had with them.

Origin: According to Mrs Winnie Nkhuladzi, the facilitator and tutor for Likoswe and Mkumba villages, this program started in September 2015 to fill the void left by the defunct government-run elderly literacy classes. Then, TAWOFO sought and trained female volunteers from surrounding villages and charged them to conduct these classes. For Mrs Nkhuladzi, who also volunteered as a tutor in the aforementioned government-run program, this opportunity fitted her aspiration to assist her fellow residents, most who are older than her, in whatever way to achieve their dream to become literate. Currently, Mrs Nkhuladzi is the only tutor for the residents of Likoswe and Mkumba - adjacent villages.

Objectives:To impart reading, writing, and numerical skills. The curriculum is in Chichewa, Malawi's national language.To increase awareness of human rights, particularly women's rights.To provide a safe platform for interaction and peer advice on topics of interest such as marital relations and household management.To promote economic empowerment by encouraging saving through village banking.

Current Status: Actual classes are conducted on Mondays and Wednesdays. Mostly discussion based, classes run from 2PM to 4PM. Friday are reserved for village banking activities and general conversations that seek to promote integration and strengthen group cohesion. The school calendar corresponds with the government school calendar on a three terms per year format. Enrollment is free and currently the joint Likoswe and Mkumba chapter boasts 31 active members. Grimly, out of the 31 active members, 3 are men, who all happen to be teachers at Malavi FP school. The three male teachers joined the group in order to provide moral support. So, essentially, illiterate men from the two villages shun this opportunity.

Mrs Nkhuladzi (far right) and her students

Source of Motivation for the Facilitator (Mrs Nkhuladzi):As indicated above, Mrs Nkhuladzi runs the Likoswe-Mkumba chapter on a voluntary basis. In other words, she gets zero material benefits from TAWOFO and refrains from soliciting anything from her students. Despite not getting private material gains, she still works with unspeakable diligence and ardor. She is a hero. She confided in me that the following aspects motivate her:

Remarks from her students on how the knowledge she is imparting has improved their respective marriage lives.The observable confidence and character that women have gained.The progress that most of her students have made, which is evidenced in their ability to read and write. At the commencement of the program, none of her students knew how to read nor write.The attendance and commitment of Chief Mkumba's sister, an ealderly woman in her late 70s.The minimization of cases of property grabbing against widows, which used to be pervasive in the community.

Challenges: High dropout rate. At the beginning, the program had 127 members. Lamentably, this number has plummeted to 31.The dearth of reading and writing materials for students and the tutor.Eyesight problems for senior students (most cannot afford a pair of glasses).Lukewarm support from community leaders.Negligence from men. This prompts other women to follow the negative trend set by men.

Testimonies from Students:Mrs Enelle Maulana, a resident of Mkumba village, is proud that she is now literate and that she poses the confidence to contribute meaningfully during community meetings.Mrs Estele Namakhona, a boisterous lady who left school when she was in standard 1 due to school fees issues, is proud that she has learned how to write her own name and therefore does not need to use finger prints for a signature.Like Mrs Namakhona, Mrs Effelo Faki, quit school because of fees unaffordability. She left school when she was in standard 2, but she is happy for this program because it has given her a second chance to gain literacy skills.For Mrs Adidja Charles, information shared at this school has improved her everyday life, especially her marriage. In addition, knowing that women have rights and freedoms makes her feel safe in a society famed for high levels of misogyny.

Conclusion:Meeting these ladies was a thrilling experience for me. Each individual student has their own story that explains why they are found in this predicament. Of course trends can be drawn, especially for those that failed to progress in education because of monetary hardships. However, undeterred by age and other distractions, these women have seized the opportunity to have a second go on education and are putting in tremendous effort to enhance their livelihoods. I have maximum respect for Mrs Nkhulidza for the work that she is putting in to help her fellow residents. Malawi needs people like her. People who have the courage to sacrifice their time and resources for the general good of the nation. To show my appreciation for what these women are doing, I pledged to assist them in learning, and most importantly, join them every week during their Friday meetings. I think this will be fun!

My immersion in Likoswe village continues to unfold in a relative positive manner. With time, I have began to feel senses of belonging and acceptance, which - I have been told - are crucial ingredients for a successful service. In recent weeks, for instance, I have noted that the number of residents that have embraced the courage to greet me affectionately has increased tremendously compared to the past two months! This is adorable and encouraging. Interestingly, people here call me "Mr. Limbani," so keep that in mind in case you come looking for me.

Development work: In relation to my community and my identity as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, a few remarkable developments have occurred since my last post. Allow me to give you a detailed account of things that have transpired in the past few weeks that relate to what this blog stands for.

First, from 12 - 15 April, all 12 current CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteers and the entire incredible CorpsAfrica staff assembled in Blantyre for CorpsAfrica Malawi's In-Service training (IST). Apart from being the first time all Volunteers met and shared individual experiences from our respective sites, IST was crucial in the sense that additional tools and knowledge, which, henceforth, have enhanced our capacity to serve in the best way possible, were imparted. Thus, looking back, I consider that IST was very necessary and fruitful. For an in depth account of what happened at IST, you can read my fellow Volunteer's blogpost here

Second, back to the tranquil Likoswe village, a game-changing project commenced while I was attending IST and has been in progress since then. Matter of fact, the project is approaching its completion now. With funds from Village X, my partner organization, residents of Likoswe village are on the verge of concluding the construction of a nursery school, which will be the first community-owned nursery school in the entire TA Likoswe area! Without a doubt, pre-primary school education is vital when it comes to early childhood development and the eventual molding of future responsible citizens. Constructed under direct supervision of a female-led Village X committee, the project stands as a testimony of successes that are achieved when women are allowed to participate equally in community development endeavors.

Set off: Nursery school construction

Lunch time: builders getting settled for lunch

Up close: a closer view of the structure

Work in progress: the exterior view of the nursery school this far

Other noteworthy happenings in Likoswe villlage since my last post are as follows: the arrival and subsequent establishment of One Acre Fund village committee (hopefully, community farmers will reap benefits from this new intervention); the distribution of mosquito nets as part of an ongoing nationwide initiative to curb Malaria - a special impediment to development in Sub Sahara Africa; and the setting up of an enquiry to trackdown medication that went missing several weeks ago at Malavi Health Center (I hope the enquiry will have the interest of a common man at heart).

Kwalero, ndechere kaje papapa "For today, let me pause here" (See, I am learning Yao language, which is widely spoken in my community. Especially, among the elderly). I believe my current entry helps to contextualize what has been going on in my community lately. I should point out that I cannot wait to give you a sequential update on the nursery school project and other issues that I have illuminated on in this post. Selah!

March 26, 2016 marked my one month stay in Chiradzulu. Though far from perfect, my stay in rural Chiradzulu has been remarkable to say the least. The past 30+ days have exposed me to diverse social nuances that continue to challenge - and in the process, deepen my comprehension of the dynamics of life in Likoswe village.

In relation to my service as a CorpsAfrica volunteer, a few salient reflections are in order. So far, I have attended 4 community gatherings (I organized 2 of the 4 meetings) and generally speaking, all 4 meetings were fruitful in a sense that I noticed raw desire for progress in most of the attendants. The zeal to initiate change has been visible during all 4 meetings. For example, during one of the meetings that I organized, a lady named Mrs. Ellen Chikuse gave an assurance that the residents of Likoswe village have the ability to work as a unit when solving collective problems. "Achimwene, anthu a mwa Likoswe sititengela pamgong'o ntchito za chitukuko," she declared. To me, her courage to utter such a bold remark invoked a sense of belief and inspired me give out the best I can.

GVH Likoswe addressing his subjects

Members of Village X committee

Still on reflections, but pertaining to the Innovator's Campus, which is a fundamental rubric for Human-Centered design, I have discovered (and I am still making more discoveries) a litany of observations that I hope will guide my way forward. In the interest of time and space, I can't outline every single observation per say, but I think it is imperative to point out that I gathered these observations through immersion and interview techniques. On a positive note, from an asset-based point of view (resources available within the community that can be employed to initiate change), I have observed that Likoswe village has a youthful population that is somewhat eager for progress. Personally, I hold the conviction that development minus the youth is meaningless. Therefore, I am incredibly happy to realize that my community has a youthful population that continues to demonstrate the will to participate in development projects.

Other similarly significant communal assets that I have observed include: my site's proximity to Blantyre, which provides a major market for people's farm products, extensive road networks, including a tarmac road (easy transportation), and the presence of Tiwasunge Community Based Organization, which has been working relentlessly to promote transparency and accountability in development projects, specifically projects that are funded by the government through the Local Development Fund (LDF).

On a slightly negative note, I am concerned with men's apathy towards development initiatives. In terms of numbers, women's attendance has outstripped by far men's in all the 4 meetings that I have been to. For instance, my maiden meeting had 8 male attendants to 18 women. My second meeting, which was a low profile gathering where 11 people were expected, 4 women against 1 man showed up. Through interviews, I have established that this worrying trend is a norm here - most men simply disregard community meetings.

At the moment, I have no clue why most men in Likoswe village prefer to skip development gatherings, but one thing that I know is that this scenario is not necessary unique to Likoswe village. During PST, Mr Joseph Kandiyesa of Kindle Orphan Outreach, which is based in Salima district, lamented that his organization was encountering this same problem in their effort to engage communities in Salima. This could be a countrywide problem. I don't know if my fellow CorpsAfrica volunteers in Malawi are facing the same problem in their respective sites. Regardless, I plan to uncover the core reason why most men in my community shun development meetings.

Before I close, allow me to give you some good news. I deliberately saved this one for last. So congratulations for reading this post up to this point. Here is the news: with assistance from fellow Volunteers, I now know how to cook rice in a pot. Before joining CorpsAfrica, I could even screw up cooking rice in a rice cooker. Yes, I was that type of a person. For this reason, I am really proud of this achievement. Thank you CorpsAfrica family for enriching my kitchen skills!

Hello! My name is Limbani Kamanga - some people call me Ada Kamanga - and I am one of the 12 pioneering CorpsAfrica volunteers in Malawi. As you may know, CorpsAfrica has recently expanded to Malawi and Senegal in its continued effort to address development challenges in neglected African communities using local human resource, particularly the youth. I am excited to be a part of this initiative.

Through this blog, I will be publishing monthly updates on the progress of various development endeavors that I, in my capacity as a CorpsAfrica volunteer, and the residents of my site in collaboration with CorpsAfrica's development partners, will be initiating throughout the course of my service. I hope this blog will captivate your interest and that you will feel the need not only to peruse my posts but also to contribute your insights through the comments section."But, who is Limbani," you may be wondering. Well, here is my brief backstory. I am a young and enthuastic Malawian, and I hail from Nkhata-Bay. Academically, I hold a BA in International Relations, which I obtained in 2015 at the College of Wooster. Within the IR discipline, I have vested interest in development issues, particularly issues relating to the African continent. I guess this explains why I am with CorpsAfrica at the moment.A Brief Profile of My Site: Located in Chiradzulu, a district that neighbors Blantyre (Malawi's main commercial city), my site is within Group Village Headman (GVH) Likoswe area. Interestingly, I am almost 35 minutes away from Limbe, such that a one-way minibus ride to Limbe costs approximately K300.00 ($1 = K750). This means, in terms of proximity to a "proper" city, I am better off than most of my fellow volunteers. But, fundamentally speaking, this aspect, does not make my job easier by any means. I still have to abide by the same rules as stipulated in the CorpsAfrica handbook. Anyway, GVH Likoswe's area is subdivided into 9 villages, namely: Likoswe, Nkumba, Magombo, Nancho, Ntepere, Thamangiwa, Nkasa, Mwenye, and Mzembere. I will be spending the rest of 2016 and probably the beginning of 2017 in these 9 villages.I hope you will be keeping up with my endeavors, through this space, as I try to find my feet in GVH Likoswe area. Thank you all.